The quarterback position has been in flux for the Los Angeles Rams without Matthew Stafford.
Stafford missed time earlier in the 2022 season due to a neck injury and was recently placed on injured reserve with what the team is calling a spinal cord contusion. Stafford is technically eligible to return before the end of the year, but head coach Sean McVay admitted there was a good chance he would miss the remainder of the season.
Without their starting quarterback, the Rams have turned to backups John Wolford and Bryce Perkins who have been unable to hold the offense together. In an effort to possibly improve at the position, L.A. claimed Baker Mayfield who was waived by the Carolina Panthers.
Mayfield faces an uphill climb to play for the Rams in Week 14 as they take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football, but Adam Schefter of ESPN notes there’s a shot he could possibly make his debut:
Asked if Baker Mayfield has a chance to play Thursday night for the Rams, one source just texted, “There’s a shot.”
Team is in the process of sending the playbook to Mayfield to make sure he can study the offense on his flight to Los Angeles.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 6, 2022
It feels more likely than not that Mayfield’s first game with the Rams will have to wait until next week due to the quick turnaround, but at this point, their other options at signal caller don’t look much better. The Wolford-Perkins combination clearly hasn’t been working, so L.A. could opt to see what they have in Mayfield instead.
It’s been a disappointing year for the former No. 1 overall pick as he struggled to find any success with the Panthers. However, coming to Los Angeles might be the move that revitalizes his career and it’ll be interesting to see if he takes those first steps back to relevance on Thursday.